Gaumukh & Tapovan

June 2009

We’d dreamed of going on a long trek since quite some time, especially after our immensely enjoyable first trek to Deoriya Tal and Tungnath. This trek was however very short, with just one night of camping at Deoriya Tal, and we now wanted to experiment with a week long, high altitude trek, but not a tough one since it was going to be Aarti’s first. After two months of extensive research, going through the entire Outlook Traveller’s Trekking Guide and discussing with some experienced friends, we finally decided our destination - Gaumukh and Tapovan. A long, high altitude trek, which is relatively easy in terms of the gradient of the trek path – an ideal beginning.

So off we went in the second week of June. Our plan was to make the trip a driving cum trekking holiday, primarily because we hate to travel without our car! We had two huge backpacks, with everything a camper would need – a tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, a little stove with extra tiny gas cylinders, a lamp, a compass, all kinds of winter clothes, some ready-to-eat food, and lots of toilet paper!

We left around 12 in the afternoon and after a boring drive to Rishikesh, which we’ve done so many times that we know what the next signboard is going to read, we broke the night there at a friend’s place. The next day, we left his place early at 7am, since we had to reach Uttarkashi before lunch to get our permit from the DFO’s office there. The government declared the Gaumukh area a National Park in 2007 and since then they allow only 150 tourists to enter the park per day, including guides. We’d applied for our permit well in advance from Delhi, and just had to get the paper from their office. It took us about 5 hours to reach Uttarkashi, and about 10 minutes to get the permit. We then set out for Gangotri, another 4 hours away. The road from Uttarkashi to Gangotri is pretty bad, with some dam construction on the way. However, once one reaches close to Harsil, the drive becomes beautiful, with the Ganga flowing next to the road and pine tress all around. Sadly, we couldn’t see any peaks since the weather was bad, with clouds playing a spoilt sport. By the time we reached Gangotri, it was around 5pm. The first problem we faced here was to find a good parking spot for our car, since it was going to be parked there for the next 5 days. After some difficulty, we managed to find the perfect spot, in a corner, almost inconspicuous to the public eye. The next thing was to find a room for the night, and after looking at 2 or 3 dingy ones on the main road, we decided to cross the river and try our luck at the GMVN, which we were sure would be packed, given the peak tourist season. But a pleasant surprise was in store for us, and not only did we easily get a room, we also got the best one, with a direct view of the Gauri Kund, where the Ganga falls from a cliff of limestone rocks. Legend says that it was here that Ganga descended on Earth, falling on Shivji’s matted locks. Our third point of concern was to look for a guide, which too was solved without any effort from our side – we were standing in front of the GMVN, admiring the Ganga, when a guide walked up to us and offered to accompany us to Gaumukh, Tapovan and Nandanvan (we’d planned to go there initially). Kanak, the guide, did not look very impressive, but wasn’t that bad either, and we finalized him then and there. After a simple dinner, we hit the sack early.

The next morning Aarti was quite scared – the thought of walking 14kms in a day had been troubling her since a while, but now that the day had come, she was getting cold feet! Harsh and Kanak were carrying the huge backpacks, with Aarti carrying only a lil tiny bag which consisted mostly of her ‘make-up’!

The trek path, on the right bank of the Ganges, starts at the end of the market and climbs steeply initially. The 2km walk to the first check-post is a cake-walk, primarily because that is when your enthu is the maximum! At the check-post, one is required to show their permit and also register the number of plastic items they are carrying so that all of them are brought back and none thrown away in the National Park. They also charge a deposit of 200 bucks for this. We quite liked this concept, and were more than willing to pay up!

Then the real trek starts… you can now no longer see the Gangotri township and the temple complex, as the path climbs steadily, always next to the Ganga. Since we’d gone in the peak season, we kept passing pilgrims regularly, but not so many at all so as to call the place ‘crowded’. The path was very rocky at places, making it difficult to walk without looking down. There are many streams on the path that one crosses over rickety log bridges which make for great photographs. Soon the Bhagirathi peaks came into view, and dominated the skyline for the rest of our trek. There are no dhabas whatsoever between Gangotri and Bhojbasa, 14 kms away. By the time we reached Chirbasa, the first halt 9 kms from Gangotri where there is another check-post, we, especially Aarti, was dead tired. Chirbasa, or the place of chirs (pines) is a very picturesque place, surrounded by pines, and is a great place to camp. Ideally, one should camp here the first night, but to save on time, most people walk to Bhojbasa on the first day itself. After a quick lunch of cup noodles and instant coffee, and a refreshing nap of an hour, we set out again for our destination of the day – Bhojbasa, 5kms from Chirbasa. This was relatively easy, and by 6:30pm we’d reached there, and set up camp next to the weather department building. Bhojbasa is the widest point of this valley, and is thus also very windy. There are a few buildings here – a GMVN, Lal Baba’s Ashram complex, and some buildings of the weather department. After a basic meal of dal and roti at the Ashram, we tucked ourselves into the sleeping bag and were sound asleep in a minute!

We got late in leaving for Gaumukh the next day due to our leisurely breakfast at GMVN. The 4km trek took us some 2 hours. The trek from Bhojbasa to Gaumukh is pretty flat, but is very rocky, and one has to carefully pick one’s way. One can see the snout of the Gangotri glacier all the way from Bhojbasa, but as one draws nearer, it becomes more distinct and clear and once at Gaumukh, you realize the real magnitude of what you are seeing – Ganga, India’s holiest river, gushing out of a blue and white opening, the mouth of the 26 km long Gangotri glacier. There is so much debris on it that its hard to believe that one is actually looking at a glacier – as one book describes it, ‘chocolate over vanilla’! After marveling at the sight before us for sometime, we again got on our feet, this time to traverse the most treacherous part of our trek yet – the climb to Tapovan.

Till Gaumukh, the trek path is paved and clear, but beyond it, one has to rely on one’s guide or on the pile of stones that the locals keep to mark the route. Starting from the banks of the Ganga, one climbs up, then moves right to cross the glacier, all the time hopping on stones, many of which are unsteady, with only the occasional crevasse reminding you that you are actually walking on a massive glacier!

We were just about to reach the base of the final 1 km steep ascent to Tapovan when two boulders fell on Aarti’s foot and we almost thought that we would not be able to make it! But thanks to Relispray’s magic and Kanak’s expert guidance, we were able to climb almost a vertical mountain in about an hour and a half, and reached the vast meadow just as it started snowing! What exquisite beauty! The Shivling massif rising up in a scoop of scree and snow, the Akash Ganga criss-crossing the meadow, and mighty snow clad peaks all around… if there is heaven on Earth, it has to be here!

After quickly setting up our tent, we trudged up to Mauni Baba’s ashram for dinner. He has been staying in Tapovan for two years now (he stays there for six months and in Bhojbasa for the other six) and has not spoken a word, hence the name ‘Mauni Baba’. He has two three ashrams there, where people who do not carry their tents can stay (that is where our guide Kanal stayed), and all people can eat, tent or no tent! A Bengali Mataji also has an ashram in Tapovan, but for some strange reason, she wasn’t very welcoming. A wonderful meal of dal and rice and Mauni Baba’s special jadibooti chai were the perfect end to an adventurous day!

We decided to stay in Tapovan the next day for two reasons – one, if we spent just one night in such a lovely place, it would be a crime; and two, we were very tired and bruised after two days of strenuous walking and trekking and our bodies desperately needed a break. And of course, our ambitious plan of also trekking to Nandanban seemed like a joke now!

Mornings are always adventurous when you camp – the reason being that you need to find the ‘right’ place for morning activities! There’s always that big tree or a hill which is the best spot, but what do you do at a meadow above tree line?!! Thankfully, we found some huge boulders which saved the day.

After a delicious breakfast of suji ka halwa prepared by Mauni Baba, we decided to venture out and explore more of the meadow. We spent some time clicking the Bhagirathi and the Shivling peaks from all angles, and then walked to a point from where we could see as much as we could of the Gangotri glacier. The view before us seemed surreal…. A vast expanse of snow covered peaks and the Gangotri glacier extending to as far as we could see, with the Bhagirathi peaks right ahead, the melting snow on them gleaming in the morning sun. Wow! We just stood there for a while taking in the magnificence of the scenery before us. Seeing a blizzard coming towards us, we then quickly retraced our steps back to our tent.

In the evening, we walked to the base of the Shivling and tried to also locate the source of the Akash Ganga… didn’t quite find it though! Again, after chai and a meal of dal and roti, we returned to our tent and snuggled into our sleeping bags.

In the morning, after thanking Mauni Baba for his hospitality, giving him some money as gratitude, and clicking lots of pictures of him which we promised to send via our guide, we started our descent – the one thing that we had been dreading since the last 2 days! A steep decline is always more dangerous than a steep ascent, with chances of slipping being much higher. It took us about an hour to reach the bottom of the 1km high mountain on top of which Tapovan is situated, and then another 2 to reach Gaumukh. By lunch we were at Bhojbasa, where we spent an hour and a half relaxing, before starting the final leg of the day to Chirbasa, where we planned to camp for the night. Just as we were reaching there, it started to rain, and out came our green barsatis which we’d bought foreseeing such a storm.

We left early the next morning for Gangotri and were there by 12 or so. We took the path via the temple complex, paying our tribute to Goddess Ganga from the outside, not having the patience or the strength to stand in the long queue of devoted pilgrims to go inside the temple. After a hearty meal at a local restaurant and saying goodbye to our quiet but smart guide Kanak, we drove off to Uttarkashi, where we stayed the night at GMVN. It was good to be back to civilization and worldly pleasures – like a bath and some good food! We reached Delhi the following night.

Our first major trek had come to an end, leaving us all bruised and exhausted and sun-burnt, but the gleam in our eyes and the smile on our faces did not go away for a long long time.